


When Out On The Lawn, There Arose Such A Clatter

by Masterweaver



Category: RWBY
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Comedy, Holidays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28288950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterweaver/pseuds/Masterweaver
Summary: "You shot down my grandfather's airship?!" Weiss shrieked, anger just barely outpacing her horror."I was aiming for a Teryx!" Ruby protested weakly. "It just, uh, got killed right before the bullet hit."Penny cringed. "I am sincerely sorry about that. But the airship landed safely, so he should be alright... right?"Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath. "That's... not the issue here."
Comments: 11
Kudos: 22





	1. Away To The Window I Flew Like A Flash

**Author's Note:**

> Made by [this wacky tumblr prompt.](https://mwpriddypinkie.tumblr.com/post/638350812594225154/ya-know-what-ima-just-going-to-tag-my-writer) Happy holidays!

"You shot down my grandfather's airship?!" Weiss shrieked, anger just barely outpacing her horror.

"I was aiming for a Teryx!" Ruby protested weakly. "It just, uh, got killed right before the bullet hit."

Penny cringed. "I am sincerely sorry about that. But the airship landed safely, so he should be alright... right?"

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath. "That's... not the issue here. It's just... there's this whole... tradition, he does, with that airship..."

She paused, her expression shifting uncertainly.

"...I'm sorry." Ruby let her head fall. "I swear, I... I didn't mean to hit the ship. I'll help fix it, I promise--"

"It can't be fixed in time, the festivus is in three days--"

"The festivus?" Penny interjected, focusing on Weiss suddenly. "What does your grandfather's airship have to do with the festivus?"

"Also," Ruby added, "what _is_ the festivus, exactly?"

Penny snapped her attention to her, expression aghast. "You don't _know_ about the festivus?!" She turned back to Weiss. "You never told her about the _festivus?!"_

"The Vytal tournament happened before the winter classes!" Weiss objected. "And it's more a Mantle thing than an Atlas thing, really--"

"But you know about it!" Penny pointed out. "So the festivus must have visited you!"

"That's... not... _un_ true," Weiss ground out, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

"Girls, I'm from Patch," Ruby reminded them. "And I got skipped ahead two years. I don't know everything. _What's the festivus?"_

"Well you see--"

"The festivus is a legendary magical spirit that visits during the winter holidays!" Penny gushed eagerly. "They leave presents for all the children one night every year--usually toys, but really whatever it takes to keep up good cheer during the coldest of nights!"

"That's what--" Weiss began.

"I remember the most important gift they left me," Penny continued. "My bow, you know, from back before Vytal. I was... so lonely back then. I didn't even know if I was a person, or if I... even wanted to be." The joy in her expression faded slightly, but she still wore a sad but fond smile. "Then I got that bow, and... and if a spirit of magic, that gave gifts to everyone, thought I was worth paying attention to... well... I..."

Ruby quietly took her hand, giving Penny a reassuring smile when she looked her way.

"...erm." Weiss bit her lip. "That's... the story they tell the children..."

Penny blinked, turning back to her with a confused expression. "You don't believe in the festivus?"

"Oh no, I know the festivus is real, he's just..." Weiss cringed. "Not... what you think he is."

_"...he?"_

Weiss gave out a long, low sigh. "...He's my grandfather."

Ruby tilted her head. "Your grandfather is a magical gift-giving spirit?"

"No! Yes. Kind of?" Weiss groaned. "He's not a magical spirit, I'm pretty sure, but he does do the gift-giving."

"I..." Penny stared at her. "I don't understand. If Nicholas Schnee is the one giving gifts, how did I get my bow? I was... a top-secret project, back then."

Weiss flinched. "...look, the first time he did it, it was back when the SDC had just made its first ten million. He just... bought a toy for every kid in Mantle and had them sent to their houses with a message saying 'Join Festive Us' because... he had a sense of humor? It made everyone in the city happy, of course, but it nearly bankrupted the company. My father stepped in with a loan to keep it afloat... probably the only good thing he's done in his life." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Of course, the next year Grandfather heard that all the parents were planning to do _another_ festivus for their kids, and _then_ he heard that the poorest wouldn't be able to afford it, so he decided that he'd deliver gifts to anybody who couldn't afford to buy them for their kids, and... it's kind of become his thing."

"...so... my bow..."

"Probably came from Pietro," Weiss said quietly.

"From somebody who knew you needed hope," Ruby pointed out, gently massaging Penny's hand.

Penny's eyes fell for a moment. "I... I loved the festivus... the idea of a spirit just... helping warm the hearts of those who need it."

She sat down, staring at her own hands quietly. Weiss, gently, sat next to her.

"...you know, when I heard about what Grandfather did in Mantle every year, I... always wanted to join him."

Penny didn't react for a moment.

"I mean... bringing happiness to so many houses..." Weiss wrung her hands. "I... didn't have the best childhood. Giving others something I couldn't... making the world better, in a small way... maybe getting away from my father for a bit," she admitted, "but really it just felt like the nicest thing in the world. I never actually asked to join him, because I was a child, and then later after he fell ill it was... the one thing he could still do. The one thing he could still arrange himself. It meant so much to him."

"...and I shot down his airship," Ruby murmured guiltily.

The three of them sat on the cold bench in Atlas academy, not meeting each other's eyes.

"...Those kids in Mantle... they love the festivus, right?"

"They look forward to it every year," Penny agreed quietly.

"Well then." Ruby swallowed, standing up tall. "Well then!" she said again, more firmly. "We're going to make sure the festivus visits this year!"

Weiss stared at her. "That's... Ruby, I understand you want to fix things--"

"This isn't about fixing things. This is about all the kids in Mantle. I mean, think about it--everything happening down there right now, with the election and, and the embargo... this festivus thing has been a bright moment of the year their whole life, right?"

"Well, yes, but--"

"Weiss..." Ruby tilted her head toward Penny, quietly. "A little hope can change everything."

Weiss trailed off, looking at the quiet orange-haired girl.

"...I... guess it couldn't be too difficult..."

Penny lifted her head. "What?"

"I mean," Weiss went on as she stood, "a festivus doesn't just _happen,_ right? You have to run the calculations, buy all the gifts... Grandfather puts a lot of preparation into this. Most of the work has already been done, all we'd need to do is make sure the gifts _arrive."_

"But... if... if it isn't real--"

"Penny." Ruby took her hand. "It's not what the festivus _is_ that matters. It's what it _means._ Your bow... whether it came from your dad, or Weiss's gramps, or a magical winter spirit, it gave you what you needed when you needed it. And all those kids down there... one day they'll grow up and learn, yes, that the story they were told was just that, a story. But for right now, that story gives them what they need."

Penny considered her words, expression quiet for a moment or two.

Then she gave a firm nod. "I'm the protector of Mantle. And that should mean more than defending its walls." She stood up, a small smile growing. "And we'll need to find a replacement aircraft, anyway, so you'll need a licensed pilot!"

"You're a licensed pilot?"

"I have a license to fly. That's close enough!"

Weiss shook her head, but there was an amused smile on her face. "Well, I'll go look into what Grandfather's set up. It won't take too long, I think, there shouldn't be more than a few hundred gifts to spread out."

* * *

It was more than a few hundred.

It was a lot more than a few hundred.

"I... I knew things were _bad_ in Mantle," Weiss stuttered, "but..."

"Say it again," Ruby managed, barely.

"...Twenty thousand."

"Okay." She nodded, leaning against a wall. "That's what I thought I heard."

Penny carefully took the scroll from Weiss's limp fingers, rolling through the listings with super-human speed. "...Some of these are repeat addresses," she pointed out. "Presumably for families with multiple children."

"Oh!" Ruby perked up a little. "So we only have to make how many total deliveries?"

"Thirteen thousand!" Penny beamed brightly. "That's thirty-five percent more efficient!"

"Oh." Ruby's smile faltered. "Great! Great..."

Weiss shook her head. "Of all the weeks for Yang and Blake to be guarding the launch site..."

"This will take quite a bit of coordination," Penny admitted. "And it's a big load, even with the small size of most of the gifts. I may need to rent a second sleigh."

Ruby blinked. _"Sleigh?"_

"Oh, all the military aircraft are already in rotation," the gynoid explained quickly, "so I had to look into civilian transport."

"And you couldn't get us a ship?" Weiss asked.

"I tried, I really did, but... well, I wasn't able to cover the military-related insurance the renters insisted on. But the sleigh shop owner was really nice!" she added quickly. "Said I could drop by anytime!"

"A _sleigh,"_ Ruby repeated.

"It's a big sleigh!" Penny insisted. "It's built for up to eighteen people to ride in!"

"Penny," Weiss said, with a very forced patience, "how were you intending to move this sleigh?"

"I am capable of decoupling my thrusters from my body and controlling them remotely. If we strap them to each side of the sleigh--"

"A _jet-powered_ sleigh," said Ruby, and her voice was starting to have emotions in it again.

"Allow me to be more precise. How do you intend to get the sleigh _down_ to Mantle?"

Penny opened her mouth, paused, and reluctantly shut it. "Ah."

"...Glyphs," Ruby realized.

Weiss gave her a look. "What was that?"

"Glyphs," she repeated. "We ride the sleigh off the edge of Atlas, and you lower it on your glyphs."

Weiss crossed her arms. "I lower a _heavy vehicle_ filled with presents from a _flying city,_ down to the _tundra,_ using only my semblance."

"Well..." Ruby shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah? Didn't you do it with that airship one time?"

"Okay, that was me _redirecting_ a crashing airship, not literally _carrying--"_

"It's not a bad idea," Penny said quickly. She held up her hands as Weiss turned on her. "Maybe not lowering it all the way, but if you created glyphs in front of the sleigh, I could use my thrusters to hop it from glyph to glyph all the way down."

Weiss took a long, low breath.

"....we're going to strap some wind Dust grenades to the runners," she declared firmly. "I don't know how far down I'll be able to get us, but I'm pretty sure it won't be all the way."

"Landing strategy for a sleigh." Ruby shook her head with a grin. "I am loving the huntress life."


	2. On Comet! On Cupid! On Donner And Blitzen!

"Penny," Ruby asked slowly, "why are you wearing antlers?"

"Oh these aren't antlers! They're gyroscopic transmitters! My father made them when I told him what we were doing tonight." Penny grinned, her eyes literally beaming. "With these I will have more control over my thrusters and be able to redirect the whole weight of the sleigh with sufficiently more accuracy!"

"O...kay then--"

Weiss, who had already pulled herself into the sleigh, let out a sudden shriek. "PENNY! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR _LEGS?!"_

"What do you mean?"

"I mean--they're not there!" Weiss insisted, waving at the notable absence.

Penny gave her a baffled look. "I told you I could decouple my thrusters from my body. They're strapped to the side of the sleigh."

Ruby peered at one of the black bars near her and, sure enough, it did resemble the black boots Penny usually wore, right down to the green lines. "And, uh..." She tapped the foot carefully. "This isn't hurting you?"

"Oh no, Ruby, I am not in any pain. In fact, I have total control of my limbs, see?"

Ruby watched the foot twitch in front of her. "Oh. Okay." She nodded to herself. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"It makes--?!" Weiss caught herself, taking a careful breath. "Penny," she began again, "when you said you could decouple your thrusters, I thought you meant... something else."

"Oh." Penny considered her for a moment. "What did you think I meant?"

"...not... taking off your legs," Weiss mumbled, sinking into her seat.

Ruby slid in on Penny's other side. "What I think Weiss means to say," she offered, "is that the last time we saw you in pieces was Vytal, so seeing it again without warning kind of scared us for a moment."

"...oh."

"Just..." Ruby put a hand on her thigh. "Next time, maybe, make sure we know what's going on?"

"I will... do that."

Weiss cleared her throat, looking at the tarp belted down behind them. "Well. The gifts seem secure. You managed to get them all on one sleigh?"

"Atlesian delivery services are very efficient."

"I suppose they are. Let's... get going, and hope we don't die."

"Do not worry! I have made this descent numerous times!"

Ruby chuckled. "Well, yeah, but you can flyyyyy _yyyyyyyy **yyyyyy--!"**_

She gripped the seat tightly as the sleigh rocketed forward, rebounding off a few stray rocks. Across from her Weiss was similarly pressing herself into the seat, managing to pale beyond even her usual pallor when the edge came in sight. Penny wrapped her arms around both their shoulders just as they shot off in front of the shattered moon, broadly grinning in eager anticipation.

"Weissglyphs _Weissglyphs_ _WEISSGLYPHS **WEISSGLYPHS--!"**_

Ruby's panicky order finally managed to break through to her partner, who reached out and flashed a brief platform of a swirling snowflake ahead. The sleigh bounced off the visage with puppy-like enthusiasm, arcing back down to the tundra.

"Do it again!"

"I'm trying!"

Disc after disc flashed briefly into existence, their ride bucking and rebounding with all the energy of a kitten in a catnip garden. Weiss had a horrible flashback to her initiation, remembering what it was like to cling to shadowy feathers; Ruby wondered if this was at all what others felt when she carried them in her semblance.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Penny cheered gleefully as the thrusters corrected a jolt that nearly flipped the sleigh. "Isn't this SENSATIONAL?!"

Ruby glanced at her smile. "It's pretty exciting!" she admitted, trying to hide her terror behind a weak grin.

"Sure!" Weiss agreed sarcastically. "Exciting!" The sleigh slammed off the next glyph with more force than usual, making her flinch. "That's _one_ word for it!"

Yet despite the fear rising in their chests, Penny's enthusiastic laughter drowned out their worries. For a moment, a brief moment, they felt as though they were the masters of the world, able to take anything that could be thrown at them. Ruby even let out a cheery "WOOHOO!" as they bounced particularly high off a glyph.

They were half-way down when Weiss reached her hand forward--and her eyes went wide. "I'm out!"

"You're what?"

"I'm out of aura!" she repeated to Ruby's question. _"I'M OUT OF GLYPHS!"_

Ruby's eyes darted toward ground--still distant, but getting closer. She met Penny's gaze, seeing the panic mirrored in her eyes.

"The wind Dust grenades--"

Penny shook her head. "They're rigged to trigger when we hit, not before!"

_"Girls I don't have a landing strategy without my glyphs--"_

"Can we use them by hand?!"

"I--" Penny's eyes darted briefly down. "I think so, but--"

"Okay, hold on to Weiss!"

Ruby swung out of the sleigh, gripping the runner one-handed as she reached out with the other hand. She tore off one of the dangling cylinders, eyed the undercarriage of the sleigh carefully, and thumbed the trigger as she tossed it. The jolt ran through her arm, but she managed to keep a grip as the sleigh leveled out.

"That worked!" Penny called out. "Do it again!"

Ruby grabbed another cylinder. "There's only seven left!" she shouted as she tossed. "Unf--okay, six now!"

"Six... It'll be close!"

"We should have convinced Winter to come with us!" Weiss bemoaned.

Ruby shimmied down the runner, grabbing another grenade and readying herself. "Ready... NOW!"

The sleigh launched off the burst of wind, ascending for a few feet and hanging in the air for a moment. Penny gently pat Weiss's leg. "We're going to be okay."

"How do you know _that?!"_

"I'm the one flying this thing," Penny pointed out. "Trust me."

Weiss took a deep, steadying breath... just as the sleigh started descending again.

"Grenade four ready!" Ruby yelled.

"Wait for my signal!" Penny shouted back.

Weiss clung to her tightly. "Doitquick doitquick doitquick doitquick--"

"NOW!"

Ruby tossed the grenade, and with one final burst the sleigh leveled out--

_"Ruby get back in here!"_

\--and a flurry of rose petals joined the girls in the front bench. "We're still pretty high up!"

"Yes, but the wind grenades should cushion our fall."

"That could flip us over!"

"Flip us--?" Penny started. "I thought you took two from each runner!"

"No I took them all from the _right--!"_

"GROUND!" Weiss shrieked.

"Ice ramp!" Ruby ordered--

The following minute and a half were comprised of barely controlled chaos. Two of the remaining grenades burst when the sleigh hit the snow, sending the whole assemblage pivoting on the curve of one runner as Penny fought to keep it from turning over with her thrusters. Weiss managed to pull out her sword and point it beneath them, her ice Dust almost bringing the careening under control--before the other two remaining wind Dust grenades hit the ramp and sent them spinning through the air again. Snow parted in wild sprays as they bumped and bounded across the tundra, green jets and bursts of ice desperately working in haphazard tandem to keep them from flipping too far to either side. Finally they bled off enough speed to spiral against the gentle curve of the last frozen edifice, sliding back down to a stop.

Weiss hung her arms over the front bar, letting out a weak moan. "That was incredible. Let's NEVER do it again. Ever. At all."

"Yeah, we... really didn't plan this out well," Ruby agreed, laughing in relief. "But, um, we're here now! And all the presents are still secure, somehow!

"Atlesian delivery services are very efficient," Penny stated proudly.

"And Mantle's..." She looked around. "Oh! It's over there. Waaaaaay over there."

Weiss managed to push herself back up. "How far is it?"

Penny peered at the distant city lights. "About a quarter of a kilometer. Not too far... we might be able to get there in an hour or so."

Weiss flopped back into her seat. "I never thought I'd _freeze_ to death," she mused. "But here I am, in the cold without aura..."

"Hey, we're in a jet-powered sleigh," Ruby pointed out. "And if you get too cold, you can snuggle in with Penny."

"What?"

"I don't mind," Penny assured her.

"And she's plenty warm," Ruby revealed as she wrapped herself around the legless gynoid. "Come on, try it!"

Weiss rolled her eyes, but scooched closer to them. "I guess it's better than--oh. Oh wow, you _are_ warm!"

"I _am_ a highly complicated piece of computer technology," Penny pointed out. "That does generate a lot of heat."

"Well, yes, I... suppose you're right." Weiss gave Ruby a suspicious look. "How did _you_ know about this?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "How many times has Penny tacklehugged me since we got here?"

"Forty-two!" Penny replied with a grin.

Weiss conceded the point with a shrug, pressing herself closer to the warm body. "That would do it."

"You're blushing," Ruby observed.

"It's because of the cold," Weiss pointed out. "Heartbeat. Trying to warm up. We should get going."

Penny nodded, pulling the two in close. "Activating night vision!"

Ruby gasped as Penny's eyes started glowing. "That looks so cool!"

"It..." Penny glanced at her with an uncertain smile. "It does?"

"Yeah! I mean, uh--you look cool. I mean, uh, with the glowing and the--"

"Ruby," Weiss reminded her, "festivus clock is ticking..."

"Right, right." Ruby cleared her throat. "Penny, with your eyes so bright, won't you drive our sleigh tonight?"

"Of course!" The jets on either side of the sleigh started up. "Hold on!"

Weiss looked Ruby dead in the eyes. "You," she said, "are a terrible poet."

_"Hey!"_


	3. When They Met With An Obstacle, Mount To The Sky

"And here's the Mantle gate! And it's closed."

"It's the middle of the night, Ruby, of course it's closed."

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah, uh, don't worry Weiss! There's probably somebody on duty. Hellooooo! There are people out here!"

No reply came from the imposing wall.

"Uh... hello?"

"It is possible that Mantle's security system is not equipped with audio recognition programs," Penny mused.

Weiss shivered and scowled. "I have survived the fall of Beacon, a crashlanding airship, being impaled by the Fall Maiden, an ambush by the Apathy, and _now_ the cold of Solitas," she growled through her chittering teeth. "I refuse to be stopped by something as simple as a _door!"_

"There's gotta be a way in," Ruby muttered, hopping out of the sleigh and walking toward the metal panel. "No hinges... looks like it slides up." She tapped it with the side of her fist, wincing at the reverberating THOOM that resounded. "Okay... so there's some sort of engine to pull it up, right?"

"I think so," Penny agreed, peering closer. "Yes.... yes, there are gear teeth on the side, look!"

"Great! So how do we turn it on?"

"I do not know!" Penny declared cheerfully.

"If there was somebody inside, they could turn on the, the thing." Weiss took in Ruby's look. "Shut up, I'm freezing."

"No no, that's not what..." Ruby shook her head. "I was just going to say, maybe you could summon your little knight friend, and he could flip the switch."

Weiss glared at her. "I ran out of aura!"

"Yeah, I know, that's why I didn't say it."

The three of them stared at the solid metal door.

"Oh!" Penny perked up. "If I reattach my thrusters, I can fly over the wall and open it from the inside!"

"Oh yeah!" Ruby rushed back to the side of the sleigh, unstrapping a black boot. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Weiss sighed, reluctantly releasing Penny and hopping out to untie the other. "And once the gate is open, we're going to have to tie her legs back onto the sleigh just to push it through... Next time, let's just steal another airship."

* * *

"Delivery number, uh..."

"Two thousand, three hundred, and seventy-nine," Penny offered helpfully.

"Yeah, that." Ruby let out a ragged breath as she leaned against the sleigh. "And we've been at this for an hour or two now?"

"One hour and forty-seven minutes." Penny nodded. "That's an average delivery speed of a little over twenty-two packages a minute!"

"Which means we'll be at this for... what, eight more hours?"

"...Closer to seven," Penny admitted with a worried expression.

"That's still cutting it close," Weiss pointed out as she rushed back from another porch. "If we could make this more efficient somehow--"

"...he'o?"

The three girls spun around to see a small child staring at them with wide eyes and perked fox ears.

"Uh... hi!" Ruby waved a hand. "You're awake," she observed intelligently.

"I heahed you talk," the child explained.

"Well, we're sorry if we woke you," Weiss said with a small smile. "Maybe you should go back inside and--"

"You was putting p'wesents out," continued the child, a frown crossing her face.

Penny nodded. "Yes. We were."

"You don't... _look_ like fesdafuss..."

"Ah," said Penny.

"Well..." tried Weiss.

Ruby took a breath and knelt down. "You know how mister Ironwood locked the doors to the kingdom?"

The child nodded hesitantly.

"Well," Ruby explained, "what he didn't know was that the festivus was actually in Mistral. They can make really cool toys in Mistral, you know? So the festivus was talking to the magic spirits over there to get toys and, well, got locked out of Atlas for this year."

"Oh." The fox ears drooped.

"Buuuuuuuut," Ruby continued as she put an encouraging hand on the small shoulder, "me and my friends were also in Mistral, and we met the festivus. So we promised to take all the toys they already had and sneak them to the children in Mantle, right under mister Ironwood's nose."

"Wheally?" the child asked, wide-eyed.

"Really really," Ruby replied with a sincere nod. "Heck, the festivus even got a fairy friend to help us!"

Weiss blinked when Ruby waved at her. "I--I'm not a fairy!"

Ruby turned back toward her, flicking her eyes significantly at the child.

"I mean--I keep telling you, I'm an elf," Weiss added quickly. "Not a fairy. Elf. No wings. Completely different kind of magic spirit."

"Oh, right." Ruby turned back to the child with a conspiratorial wink. "I'm still new to this magic stuff."

That got a giggle and a set of perked ears.

"So can you keep this secret?" Ruby asked. "The festivus was really worried that people might get scared if they weren't here, and... uh... I think too much fear can hurt them?"

"You don't sound shuh," observed the child.

"I'm really, _really_ new at this magic stuff," Ruby explained.

The child pointed at Penny's headgear. "Fesdafuss wohks with faunus?"

"Uh--"

"Yes," Weiss said quickly, waving down Penny's reaction. "The festivus is an equal-opportunity employer. Humans, faunus, elves," she gave Ruby a pointed look, "and silly huntresses who should _get back in the sleigh_ so we can get the gifts to everyone _tonight!"_

"Right! Right." Ruby stood quickly. "Remember! Super secret."

"Supah seeket," the child agreed with a serious nod.

"Goodnight!" Ruby waved as she hopped back into the sleigh. "Okay, let's uh... _turn on the magic stockings!"_

Penny gave her a baffled look. "The--"

"She means the thrusters," Weiss muttered with a facepalm.

"Oh! Yes of course!"

Penny glanced at the child, and with a mischievous grin, rose her hand and snapped her fingers. The child's eyes widened as the sled shot down the street, heading into another district.

"...Imma tell _eveyone_ bout this."

* * *

"But why did you say magic stockings?"

"Faunus have night vision!" Ruby protested. "I thought the kid could see the thrusters, so... I made something up!"

"Magic." Weiss gave her a flat look. "Stockings."

Ruby bit her lip. "I panicked, okay?"

"I don't mind," Penny said with a small smile.

"I--" Weiss visibly gave up, sinking into her seat as the sleigh came to a stop. "Whatever. What's the next delivery?"

Penny pulled out her scroll and... paused. "Ah. I have just realized the next set of deliveries is, in fact, to an apartment complex."

"Oh, like a whole street of houses?" Ruby shrugged. "I guess that'll be pretty--"

"You're thinking of Vale apartments. This is Mantle." Weiss waved a hand at the building next to them. "Den, kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms, and maybe a laundry machine if they're lucky. Multiply that by a few hundred, you've got an apartment building."

"That's..." Ruby stared at the building, doing some mental calculations. "That's tiny! Barely any room to live in at all!"

"Yes, well..." Weiss sighed. "It's... what it is."

Ruby shook her head, rolled up her sleeves, and marched toward the doors. "Well, we're going to make sure everyone in here gets the presents they--and it's locked." She turned around. "So... should we just... leave them on the porch?"

Weiss shook her head. "I know Grandfather insisted on making sure the presents were put into the apartment mailslots. We need to get inside."

"Well, yes, but... it's locked," Ruby pointed out again. "I don't think we should break down the doors."

"Hmmm." Penny looked over the building more carefully. "Oh! Look! A chimney!"

"It probably has a grate," Weiss said.

"But that won't stop Ruby," Penny pointed out. "Her semblance allows her to--"

"Of course!" Ruby grinned. "I can just use my semblance to get inside and unlock the door from there!"

"Wait there's--!"

Ruby was gone in a flurry of rosepetals.

"--probably... another way in," Weiss finished dryly. "I mean there has to be, right?" she added to Penny. "If Grandfather does this."

"I... don't know," Penny admitted. "What's his semblance?"

"I think it's the same as mine? The Schnee family semblance, I mean."

Penny frowned. "Isn't it odd that an entire family has the same semblance? I've never heard of anything else like that."

Weiss opened her mouth to reply, then paused. "Huh. I... suppose it is..."

The door to the apartment complex opened. "Okay, found the mail-room thingy. We're going to need to go in bulk, I think maybe Weiss and I can take eight packages each in at a time--Penny, can you stay out here and organize that for us?"

"I'm not going anywhere," the legless gynoid pointed out.

"Right, I just--I didn't want you to feel left out," Ruby explained awkwardly.

"It's fine!" Penny waved a hand as she flipped around and starteded pulling out packages. "Alright, this, this, not this, this, this one, this--"

"It's incredible how you know which packages go where," Weiss said.

"Atlesian delivery services are very efficient!"

"Uh huh..." Weiss took her eight packages, standing aside as Ruby quickly gathered up the next set Penny put down. "Are they efficient enough to come up with a way to get this all done before the sun rises?"

Ruby sighed. "Weiss, we'll... we'll figure something out, I promise."

Weiss nodded as she followed her into the hotel. "I know, I just... I can't help but worry that we won't be enough."


End file.
